“9 yrs in jail & still Charges not framed”: Delhi HC directs Special Court to dispose UAPA accused's bail plea within 75 days

Justice Jasmeet Singh of the Delhi High Court has recently directed the Special Court to dispose of the bail application of a man charged under provisions of UAPA within 75 days.

The court was hearing a bail application filed by a man namely Manzer Imam booked under Sections 17, 18, 18B, 20 of the Unlawful Activities Protection Act (UAPA) and Sections 121A and 123 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

During the hearing on Wednesday i.e. October 19, 2022, the counsel appearing for Imam contended that he has been in custody since October 1, 2013, and has spent more than nine years of incarceration without charges being framed till date. He further stated that there are 369 witnesses, and many of them are yet to be examined.

Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Shilpa Singh for National Investigation Agency (NIA), opposing the present plea, argued that in the current case, the applicant had not sought relief from the Special Court, which was a remedy available to him.

In response, with the liberty to approach the Special Court, Imam sought withdrawal of his bail application and sought a time frame to be fixed for disposing of the bail application.

To this, the court noted that Imam had undergone incarceration for 9 years and charges had not been framed yet and therefore, opined that the request made by him seemed to be justified.

Thus, the court ordered, “the bail application is dismissed as withdrawn with liberty to the applicant to approach the Special Court on the same grounds raised in the present bail application.”

Furthermore, the court ordered, “The Special Court will hear and dispose of the bail application of the applicant within 75 days from the date of this order.”

Case Title: Manzer Imam v. National Investigation agency & Anr.